Captain America

Obviously Jack Kirby is the greatest comic book artist of all time, but most will agree he's also one of the medium's greatest writers. He wrote the way he drew: Big and loud and primal, but with a surprising amount of intricacy and nuance waiting to be discovered amid the crackling explosions. We've put together a list of the ten essential stories that you should read if you want to get more familiar with the King.

The original Captain America was the creation of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, first appearing in March 1941's Captain America Comics #1 from Timely Comics, the company that would later become Marvel Comics. The book made waves from day one by featuring the title character punching Adolf Hitler over a year before the United States declared war on the Axis powers. Since that time, Captain America has had an illustrious career as the Avengers' most famous leader, but also as something like the moral center of the Marvel universe. We've picked ten of the very best Captain America stories by some of his many notable creative teams.

In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent. This week's selection of the best cosplay ever includes Aquaman and Aqualad, Moana, Howl's Moving Castle, Yuri Katsuke, and more.

So far, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a beautiful tapestry of heroism, intricate plotting, and Spandex. 14 movies and over two “phases” in, things are going swimmingly. Hardcore fans are happy, the movies make billions of dollars, and the web of characters and their adventures is getting ever larger.

Since debuting with the New York Mets in 2015, pitcher Noah Syndergaard has become a fan-favorite in the Big Apple. As one of the most awe-inspiring aces pitching in Major League Baseball today, Syndergaard was quick to establish a memorable persona. That was doubly helped when a photo of him working out dressed like Thor made the rounds. The flowing blonde locks, the Norwegian name, and the larger-than-life profile made the nickname stick. Now, Marvel and the Mets have teamed up to give "Thor" his very own bobblehead in a promotion this season. Rather than just making a plain Thor in Mets colors however, the team and publisher are going all out with this original and exclusive design.

Marie Severin was a woman in comics in an era when a woman in comics wasn't even considered a thing to be. She got her start as a colorist at EC Comics in 1949, and worked there until they were largely driven out of business by the Comics Code in 1955. Severin wouldn't return to comics until the '60s, where she found a new home at Marvel. For this tribute gallery, I've focused on her pencilling work at Marvel. As a penciler, she's probably best remembered for working on Dr. Strange in Strange Tales, Incredible Hulk, and Namor the Sub-Mariner, but she drew fill-in issues and covers for many, many books.

Lego has never been at a shortage of simple and easy sets for its fans to build. Sure the more extravagant pieces get all the attention, but sometimes you just want a budget-friendly little set for your desk to show off your construction skills. This past San Diego Comic-Con saw Lego take that idea even farther, and offer small character building sets in the vein of Funko Pops called Lego Brickheadz. Originally only available as two-packs exclusively at SDCC, the Lego Brickheadz are finally available for the rest of the collecting public. Featuring some of your favorite characters from the Marvel and DC universes, Lego Brickheadz might finally give Funko a run for its money in the emotionless pop culture figure arena.

Chris Sarris is a normal dude from Cleveland, Ohio. Co-workers describe him as “the guy in the office that says ‘This is what we did’ when giving a presentation to the boss, even though he did all the work.” Chris also has a bit of a secret: He played Steve Rogers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The 1989 Avengers West Coast Annual featured an unusual short story by Mark Waid and then-newcomer Amanda Conner called "Rate The Hunks," in which Wasp and She-Hulk offered their expert assessment on the sex appeal of their male Avengers colleagues. Almost thirty years later, we've assembled our own experts to repeat the exercise, with an updated twist.

With Civil War II done and dusted, Marvel has its eyes on the next big event to change everything forever. The publisher has shared teasers for an upcoming storyline titled "Secret Empire," but no further information has been revealed. Given the current storyline in Captain America: Steve Rogers, in which Rogers has been rewritten as a secret fascist, and the events of the original "Secret Empire" story, in which the US government was infiltrated by extremists at the highest levels, it seems likely that the new "Secret Empire" story will see Rogers' HYDRA insinuate its way further into the Marvel Universe --- and the groundwork has been laid with the appointment of a new director of SHIELD in this week's Marvel comics.